Zaatar Chicken Recipe

My mum's zaatar chicken is unrivalled in its deliciousness because her recipe brings out the tanginess of the zaatar without scorching it.

I've seen a lot of recipes that instruct you to just marinade the chicken in zaatar then bake it which means you end up with a very dark and sometimes bitter result.

Our way of making it requires you to marinade the chicken in subtle spices first, cook it three quarters of the way before you then baste it with a zaatar lemon olive oil mix.

This method keeps the taste and integrity of the zaatar in tact since ultimately it is a herb and herbs are delicate things which require tender loving care.

Ingredients

Zaatar is sometimes known as wild oregano and it refers to the zaatar herb which is often foraged in the wild.

The Lebanese zaatar blend is made of zaatar leaves, sumac, salt and sesame seeds and nothing else. I know some people like to add spices but that is wholly unnecessary.

With this recipe, you can use the zaatar blend or just the pure dried zaatar leaves if you can source them.

Instructions

Although this recipe needs to be done in stages, the results speak for themselves. Here are the rough steps:

Puree the garlic and onion in a blender and add the spices, salt, lemon and mild olive oil.

Marinade the chicken overnight or for a few hours at least.

15 minutes before the end, baste the zaatar mix onto the chicken and drizzle on the chicken juices.

Serve with fluffy white rice or flatbreads.

The onion and garlic will melt with the chicken juices into a stunning sauce, so keep drizzling the sauce over the chicken every five minutes for the last 15 minutes.

And of course don't waste any of that sauce, drizzle it on the rice or scoop up with flatbreads.

📖 Recipe

5 from 2 votes

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Zaatar Chicken

Subtly spiced zaatar chicken

Course Main Course

Cuisine Lebanese

Keyword Authentic, Chicken, Healthy

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

• 4-6 chicken thighs or 1 chicken quartered

For the marinade

• 1 onion
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• ½ teaspoon salt approx
• 2 tablespoon of mild olive oil (good drizzle)
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon seven spice
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

For the basting mix:

• 1 tablespoon zaatar blend
• 3-4 tablespoon mild olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt approx

Instructions

1. Peel the onions and garlic and puree them in a blender until you make a thick paste (or finely chop) and add to a dish or bowl where you will marinade the chicken

2. Add the salt, lemon juice, 7 spice, turmeric, sumac and black pepper to the onion garlic mix along with a good drizzle of mild olive oil

3. Wash the chicken and add to the bowl, massaging the marinade well and rubbing under the skin too

4. Leave the chicken to marinade overnight if possible or for a few hours at least

5. When you are ready to cook the chicken, take it out about an hour before and bring to room temperature. Heat the oven to 200°C (390F)

6. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and cook in the oven for 15 mins at 200°C (390F) then lower the heat to 175°C (340F) and cook for another half hour, turning the chicken occasionally

7. Prepare the basting juice by mixing the zaatar blend with the mild olive oil, salt and lemon juice

8. Drizzle the basting mix over the chicken and return to the oven for another 15 minutes, drizzling over the chicken juices every 5 minutes to combine with the zaatar chicken

9. Serve with rice or flatbreads.

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